'Kill POTUS?' screenplay nominated for four awards in August

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - July 19, 2019 - PRLog -- Bob Messinger's powerful and arrestingly titled screenplay "Kill POTUS?" has caught the attention of the independent filmmaking community. It's won second place in the short drama category at next month's Indie Gathering International Film Festival in Cleveland. It's also been named a finalist in the prestigious Script Summit contest, is a nominee in the Action on Film written word competition and in the Anabelle Munro Most Important Films and Scripts competition, all to be awarded in Las Vegas in August.

"While the script certainly is reflective of what's going on in Washington today and has been updated to echo that, I'd actually started outlining the screenplay years ago, long before the 2016 election," says Messinger.

"Kill POTUS?" is the story of Andrew Carter, a White House intern whose hidden ancestral past collides with his present. He loyally serves President Beal, a controversial, dividing figure who plays upon prejudices, makes false claims and empty promises, and who pushes the limits of executive power.

"I've always wondered what would happen if a demagogue somehow rose to power in America," says Messinger.  "Would level-headed citizens prevail, or would complicity reign as it did in Germany in the 1940s?"

As inspiration for the story, Messinger points to the often-debated question, "Would you have killed baby Hitler if you'd known of the atrocities he would unleash?"

"As his own ancestry is uniquely revealed to him, Andrew wrestles with a similar question as he realizes the path President Beal is leading the country down," reveals Messinger.

Messinger says that he struggled at first with the title, but that after experimenting with others, he is confident that "Kill POTUS?" best reflects the story he wants to tell.

"The title is meant to be provocative," he explains. "The question mark makes all the difference in the world. It indicates debate rather than a definitive or advocated action. And debate is what the script is designed to generate."

"There's a unique twist at the end that pulls everything together," hints Messinger, who hopes the script generates enough interest to attract a producer or to raise enough money to produce the film himself.

He has already produced two successful short movies filmed in northern New Jersey.  His most-recent production, "Over the Line," (https://www.overtheline-movie.com/) is currently in its festival run and is scheduled to be screened next month at the Hollywood Dreams International Film Festival in Las Vegas.